Hanner Mosquera-Perea of IU looks for a shot against OSU defender Amir Williams. The Indiana University Hoosiers hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten mens basketball game at Assembly Hall in Bloomington on Sunday March 2, 2014.(Photo: Rob Goebel/The Star)Buy Photo

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BLOOMINGTON Tom Crean began preparing himself for a Sunday without Noah Vonleh 24 hours earlier.

"We knew it was certainly a possibility yesterday," Crean said, referring to Vonleh's absence through injury. "It was a realization this morning."

Playing without the Big Ten's leading rebounder (left-foot inflammation), Indiana still willed its way to a 72-64 win over No. 22 Ohio State on Sunday. The victory was IU's second in as many games over a ranked team.

In his absence, Indiana started sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell and used a rotation that also included forwards Hanner Mosquera-Perea, Jeff Howard, Devin Davis and, at times, Austin Etherington.

The Hoosiers allowed Ohio State 48 points in the paint without Vonleh available to protect the rim.

But they also outrebounded the Buckeyes 34-32 and put multiple Ohio State big men in foul trouble by attacking off the dribble.

"We knew we would have to pick up the slack on rebounding," senior forward Will Sheehey said. "Our big guys … all made huge plays. I'm really proud of them."

Crean first announced Vonleh's absence via Twitter about half an hour before the start of Sunday's game, so Ohio State didn't have time to prepare for a team that didn't include the 6-foot-10 freshman.

The Buckeyes found their way into the lane often with Vonleh sidelined, but little else worked for Sunday's visitors. Of the 50 points Ohio State scored from the field against IU, only two came outside the paint.

Ohio State shot 0-of-11 from behind the arc.

"We had to get into the lane because we couldn't make a shot," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. "We had some good looks, they just didn't go down. It was just one of those days."

But Matta was no more qualified Sunday to speak about unexpected obstacles than Crean, who had to devise a gameplan that suddenly could not include a potential NBA lottery pick.

"I thought our guys did a fantastic job (playing without Vonleh)," he said. "The biggest concern we had there is, are we going to answer the bell rebounding-wise? And we did."

Crean on Vonleh's injury and status: "It's an inflammation of the foot that's been bothering him for some time. There's no stress fracture or anything like that. It's just bothering him, and he's not very comfortable with it.

"So it's truly going to be a day-to-day thing with him. It's not anything that I'm going to be able to update you on every day, because we're just going to have to wait and see how it goes for him. He continues to be with the rehab, it's nothing that's new. It's just something that's bothering him more."

IU coach Tom Crean spread praise for Sunday's win over Ohio State across his roster afterward.

None shined more than Mosquera-Perea, who matched a career high with eight points and played almost inarguably his best game of the season.

"He got better as the game went on," Crean said.

February proved a tough month for Mosquera-Perea, who was arrested for OWI on Feb. 14 and missed games at Purdue and Northwestern through suspension.

He played just two minutes against Wisconsin, and three against Iowa.

But with Indiana consistently searching for options down low without Vonleh, the 6-foot-9 sophomore provided a second-half lifeline. He played 10 minutes after halftime and scored six of his eight points in that span.

Mosquera-Perea credited his performance Sunday to increased comfort with his teammates.

"Right now, I just relax and play," he said. "I know my team more, and I know that if I have any trouble, somebody's gonna be open, so you just need to relax."

When he was asked what his performance meant personally, after what he'd been through in recent weeks, Sheehey answered before Mosquera-Perea could reply:

"We're just going to say that Hanner's been working really hard over the past couple weeks since that happened. He's sorry for his actions, obviously, and we're just going to move on from it. He's a great kid. It's not going to happen again. He's learned from it, and he's taking strides every day in practice."

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Crean, on his team's mentality in winning three of its last four: "I don't think there is any question that Penn State game shook us in a lot of ways. They knew that we weren't even close to the way we practice, and the way we prepared at the end of that game. We knew we let the pressure and the emotion of the game get to us. We've grown from that."

WHAT'S NEXT: Indiana hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m. Wednesday, which is Senior Night. That game will be carried on the Big Ten Network and the IU Radio Network.

IU Insider:
I cover all things IU basketball as The Star's IU Insider. And I listen to a lot of country music. Ideally while or shortly after riding my bike.<br /><br /><i>"You'd better give them something to read." --David Halberstam</i>